GearNuke's Reviews
As a series that has a huge legacy and influenced many games since its release, Shenmue hasn't managed to age that well. The awkward control scheme takes some time to get used to, and there are some unfortunate bugs that seem to hit hard enough to ruin the experience, but the story still has a lot of heart and charm to make you care enough to finish it.
Dragon Quest series hit its peak with Dragon Quest XI offering one of the most engaging stories in a JRPG full of unforgettable characters and a turn-based combat system that can tailor to your experience. This is a classic JRPG that is worthy of being considered one of the best games released this generation.
Yakuza Kiwami 2 thrives on the back of a great villain and it is arguably the best story chapter in Kazuma Kiryu's saga. It is also the most comprehensive Yakuza game so far with plenty of mini-games and side activities to keep you engaged for a long time.
Guacamelee! 2 is an example of a sequel done right. It is one of the most impressive co-op Metroidvania games on the PS4.
The visuals are pretty and the exploration is great, but the combat is unfortunately rather tepid, and hit detection can be disappointing with a slight delay to the attacks. Death's Gambit can also suffer from awkward difficulty spikes and there is a distinct lack of memorable boss fights, but it is overall an enjoyable product that is recommended for fans looking for a Souls-like experience.
Despite carrying an interesting premise, especially for its story, We Happy Few falters due to the lack of overall polish. It suffers from terrible performance and clunky combat controls while the focus on putting as many survival mechanics in a single-player story ends up making it look like a product that lost its identity.
State of Mind delivers an interesting story-driven experience with a mature theme that is likely to hook fans of dystopian/utopian science fiction. However, it doesn't do much to evolve the adventure game genre.
No Man's Sky has received many noticeable improvements over the course of the past 2 years but the NEXT update is perhaps the most significant one. Sadly, it still has some dated design with the need for the constant grind and a lack of rational narrative that holds back an otherwise enjoyable exploration and survival game.
Flipping Death is a worthy successor to Stick it to the Man and takes many of the elements from its predecessor to make for an even better experience. The premise of controlling Death and finding out the fate of certain humans is an interesting one and the art style gives the game its own unique personality, but it can also be divisive for others.
The biggest addition to this sequel is the online multiplayer, otherwise, it is a pretty linear iteration with new levels and no major gameplay or visual changes over its predecessor. Still, this doesn't stop it from becoming an incredibly fun co-op game with a solid amount of content and replay value.
Dead Cells is a brutal game that demands your constant attention. It is easy to get lost in the gameplay loop where each subsequent death somehow ends up feeling more rewarding than the last as you keep discovering new gear, unlocking abilities and finding more of the hidden secrets.
It is not easy to mix and mash different genres and end up with a solid result. Salt and Sanctuary looks like a weird fusion of different games from the outside, but it actually manages to work perfectly fine and ends up creating its own sub-genre. It has a beautiful dose of side-scrolling combat mixed with metroidvania exploration and a robust character class system on top of it, offering an endless amount of fun.
An interesting experiment for a DLC. It is a flawed experience but it can still be fun. This will be quite challenging for newcomers but if you take your time with it, chances are that you will end up loving it.
Go Vacation is a good reminder of how quantity doesn't always mean quality. There are a lot of mini-games available to play here, but not all of them offer a memorable experience. Motion controls implementation is also disappointing but the multiplayer is still fun if you can play it with friends.
The Persistence is among the finest VR experiences to date and may prove to be a game changer for naysayers of the technology. The rogue-lite elements and asymmetric multiplayer are well-integrated into its survival horror gameplay, and serve to add plenty of replay value to an otherwise short experience.
This game isn’t going to offer you a great combat system but there is an impressive cast of playable characters. The writing is solid and the art style is captivating, however, the quest-based mission design is a major flaw that hinders the potential of the story.
As a sequel, there are some solid improvements made that result in an overall better game. The deck building is better now and there is more variety of cards added. Writing feels more concise but the combat is still rather shallow and the load times for each battle don't really help the flow of the game. The effort to port it to the Nintendo Switch is a success without any major flaws or drawbacks holding the game behind compared to the other console versions.
As a mobile game, the gameplay design here just doesn't work as well for consoles. There is a lot to grind just to progress and unlock more levels or the different variety of sharks which is ultimately its biggest weakness.
The best collection of Mega Man games so far. This offers a fun story, memorable characters and some of the most challenging gameplay in the series. If you want to relive the classic Mega Man X games, this is the definitive way to experience them.
While not offering a unique experience, this is an Adventure Time game that is worthy of its name. The combat lacks depth and needs proper balance adjustments to make it more enjoyable, and there are some issues with the performance, but overall it is still a solid RPG that is worth giving a chance if you are a fan of the show.